More than 40 people have been injured in an explosion at a restaurant in the city of Sapporo, in northern Japan, officials said.
Police said that 40 people suffered minor injuries in the Dec. 16 blast, according to the Independent, and one victim was in serious condition.
The injured were being treated at area hospitals, according to Fox News.
The blast happened in the Toyohira district of Sapporo, the capital of the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, at about 8.30 p.m. local time on Sunday.
Authorities have not released any information on the possible cause of the explosion.
The blast was powerful enough to cause a building to collapse.
平岸三条八丁目でガス爆発による火災。火の勢い物凄く、消防車や救急車多数。 pic.twitter.com/OIRN0FiTmF
— しょうた (@shotacamera) December 16, 2018
The explosion happened in an area with residential and dining establishments, leaving nearby streets covered in debris, according to Kyodo News.
Footage posted on social media showed fire crews battling flames, with dark smoke billowing.
平岸の居酒屋がガス爆発して火災も起きました。
周辺は封鎖されてます。
平岸駅すぐ近くです。 pic.twitter.com/7zDvRXU1LQ— Yuta Morochi (@yutamorichi) December 16, 2018
Police officers were keeping people from approaching the damaged building out of fear of additional blasts, the Japan Times reported.
“I heard a ‘bang,’ which sounded like thunder, and my condo was shaken,” a man who lives nearby told the news service.
Firefighters have cordoned off the area amid fears of further explosions.
Another clerk at a nearby restaurant told Japanese broadcaster NHK there was a “tremendous sound.”
“The explosion broke the window glass of the shop where I work,” the clerk said. “It seems there are many injured people on site.”
さらに別の画像がありました。#札幌 #爆発 #ガス爆発 pic.twitter.com/8SwyCA1u94
— FUNNY BOY (@16boowy) December 16, 2018
According to NHK, the blast took place at an Izakaya restaurant, a type of informal Japanese pub.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times